Current and former U.S. lawmakers were among those who noted the 77th anniversary on Friday of the United Nations adopting Resolution 181, which partitioned British Mandatory Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.
“On Nov. 29, 1947, our thousands-year-old dream became a reality. Since then, we’ve been through a lot but we’ve only grown stronger,” stated the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry. “To those who supported us then and stand with us today—thank you. To those who question our existence, we’re not going anywhere.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), one of Israel’s staunchest supporters in Congress, called the formation of the Jewish state a “modern miracle.”
“In the span of only a few decades, Israel has emerged as one of the most dynamic democracies after one of the gravest catastrophes. Never in human history has a nation of so few done so much so quickly in the face of so many threats to its survival and security,” the congressman wrote. “The achievements of the Jewish state are nothing short of astonishing.”
“I marvel at the modern miracle it represents, and I wish everyone else saw what I so clearly see,” Torres added. “I am a proud Zionist who will never stop fighting for the survival, security and success of the world’s only Jewish state, which Yossi Klein Halevi rightly describes as a democracy under duress.” (The Consulate General of Israel in New York thanked Torres for supporting Israel “in our most challenging times,” and AIPAC also shared its appreciation.)
Joe Walsh, a former congressman from Illinois, wrote that he is a “proud Zionist” and that “the world is such a better place because of the state of Israel.”
“Throughout the decades, Israel has never stopped extending its hand for peace,” wrote Itai Biran, consul for political and commercial affairs at the Israeli Consulate General to the Midwest in Chicago. “Thank you to those who supported us then and stand with us today.”
The European Jewish Association stated that Jewish leaders “accepted and celebrated” the “historic” partition plan, while “Arab leadership rejected the decision and instead prepared for war, setting the stage for decades of conflict.”
Dan Senor, author and host of the “Call Me Back” podcast, posted a photo of a sign marking Jerusalem’s “Nov. 29th Street.”
“Happy anniversary to the Jewish people. Happy anniversary to America and the West on the birth of one of their most valuable allies in the form of a modern state,” Senor wrote. “ It’s moving that there is a street in Jerusalem called ‘Kaf-tet b’November.’ Normally, Hebrew dates are in Hebrew letters—kaf tet is 29—while English dates are in numbers. This is the only case of an English date with Hebrew letters.”
“It’s as if the 29th of November was given the honor of a place on the Hebrew calendar,” he wrote. “There’s a sacredness about it.”
